sciURus. 373 



living amongst the branches and rarely coming to the ground. 

 It makes a large nest of tv\igs and leaves near the top of a lofty 

 tree. A tame animal kept by Mr. Sterndale made nests in several 

 trees, and the same animal was observed to jump 20 feet from one 

 tree to another. This squirrel moves about and feeds at all hours 

 of daylight, except perhaps the middle of the day. The voice is a 

 loud quickly repeated cry. Young animals are easily tanked, but 

 are not very docile or intelligent. 



240. Sciurus bicolor. The large Malay Squirrel. 



Sciurus hicolor, Sparrman, Gotheb. Vet. Svensk. Handl. i. p. 70 



(1778) ; Bhjth, J. A. S. B. x, p. 919, xvi, p. 870; id. Cat. p. 99 ; 



Cantor, J. A. S. B. xv, p. 246; Anderson, An. Zool. Res. p. 215. 

 Sciurus giganteus, McClelland, P. Z. S. 1839, p. loO; Ande/'son, 



An. Zool. Res. p. 220. 

 Sciurus macruroides, Hodgson, J. A. S. B. x, p. 915 (no description) ; 



Jerdon, Mam. p. 1G8 ; Blyth, Mam. Birds Burma, p. 35. 



Shine/sham, Bhot. ; Safheii, Lepcha ; Leng-thek, Arrakan ; S/ieng, 

 She??g apan, Burmese; C/tingkrdwah, ^lalay ; Meng-klian, Talnin; Uia- 

 bong, Karen. 



Mamma) 6, all inguinal. 



Colour. All the upper parts, the outside of all limbs, and tail 

 black or brownish black or brown, lower parts to the vent buff. 

 The dark colour of the face extends around the eyes and ears ; a 

 stripe extends backwai'd and downward from the nose behind the 

 gape and below the eye, and there is a dark spot on the chin. Fur 

 of the same colour throughout above ; the basal portion of the 

 hairs is dusky below, and becomes conspicuous when the fur is 

 worn. 



Dimensions. In the Himalayan form the head and body measure 

 about 16 inches, tail without hair 17 to 22, hair at the end 3 to 

 4 inches more, hind foot 3*5 ; basal length of skull 2' 75, zygo- 

 matic breadth 1-9 ; weight 4^ lbs. In a very large individual, 

 according to Cantor, the head and body measured 18 inches, tail 

 21-5. 



Distribution. The Eastern Himalayas of Kipal, Sikhim, and 

 Bhutan, also all the hill-regions and large tree-forests of Assam, 

 Manipur, Burma, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, 

 Borneo, and e^en, it is said, Celebes. 



Varieties. In the Malay Peninsula and Islands there are several 

 races of this squirrel, to many of which names have been given, 

 and the coloration of which varies greatly, one Malaccan variety 

 having a whity-brown {eafe au lait) colour above throughout, whilst 

 others are varied in tint, and some grizzled. The hairs of the tail 

 are often white at the base or at the tips. In the Irrawaddy delta, 

 and perhaps in Martaban and Tenasserim, a variety is common 

 with a broad pale band or patch across the back. The worn 

 summer fur is often paler brown, wholly or in patches, the fresh 



